Cat Scratches and Bruised Ribs
by Rumpelstiltskin und Vladimir
Summary: Lucas's actions in the recent weeks had been tell-tale, for no person suffered that many injuries and went through such uncharacteristic mood swings without something major changing in their life." Henry notices unfortunate changes in Lucas after he finds a new girlfriend and decides to intervene. -a rumpy only story-


**R: Fret not, dear reader, I shall post Chapter 3 of Illusion tomorrow. I just wrote this little thing on a whim yesterday. I'm not totally sure how I feel about it (had some issues with the ending) but I think it's pretty good and I hope you enjoy. This could be a bit triggery so it's rated T for sensitive material. I'll inform you all, I have a bad habit for being mean to characters I love! Enjoy and review!**

**V: I can second that. Y'all shoulda seen what she did to Tyler in our LGF series. Literally dropped a _truck_ on his _head_. And claims to love him. Poor guy...**

***DISCLAIMER* RV makes no claim to own Forever or its characters. They are the property of Mathew Miller and ABC. No profit is made from this writing.**

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><p>Henry Morgan checked his watch for the umpteenth time, watching the cabs that passed expectantly. He had requested that Lucas meet Jo and himself in front of the store where a murder had recently occurred, and he needed his assistant to help recreate the crime. Needless to say, he was uncharacteristically late.<p>

Jo was already around the back of the business, leaving the medical examiner alone to wait for Mr. Wahl. Henry was growing increasingly annoyed at his continued absence, considering heading back to join his partner, when a taxi finally rolled to a stop in front of him.

Lucas jumped out, looking a bit ruffled as if he had been in a rush, but otherwise in clearly high spirits. "Sorry I'm late, Doc. Got held up by Vivian."

Henry just gave a small nod, starting towards the back of the store.

"You, uh, aren't going to ask who Vivian is?" Lucas asked, trotting to catch up with him and walk at his side.

"I assumed you would inform me regardless," Henry responded. "Though I suppose she is the woman you have been seeing lately."

Lucas nodded eagerly. "She's terrific! She's caring and strong and independent. I've never met a girl like her before."

Henry offered him a small smile as they turned the corner around the building. Lucas's bubbly excitement reminded him of how his beloved Abigail had made him feel, which brought up mixed emotions- love, longing, pain, joy, loss- but ultimately left him feeling happy for the assistant medical examiner. It made him nearly forget the fact he had even been late.

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><p>For days after, Henry was subjected to Lucas's endless praise of his new girlfriend. Henry tuned most of it out as he did much of Lucas's non-case-related ramblings, but payed attention enough to learn that Vivian was a self-assured young woman. According to Lucas, she always got what she wanted and he had just been grateful that she had wanted him. She was considerably beautiful and cared quite a bit for him.<p>

This all went on until about a week later, when Lucas was late to work. This was even more striking than the one time he had been late to the crime scene seeing as there was little else in Lucas's life besides his work- which he loved- and he actually had a penchant for being early.

"Morning, Doc, I'm sorry I'm late," Lucas greeted with his usual cheerfulness, "Absolutely chaotic morning, you know? I stayed over Vivian's so slept in by accident and got caught in traffic. Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong, right?"

"All too familiar with that, Lucas," Henry replied knowingly. He certainly had a slightly rushed look to him, possibly a bit flustered and even tired. "Anyway, get settled and we'll get started on this body that just came in."

"Will do, Doc," Lucas nodded, pulling off his jacket. As he did so, Henry couldn't help but notice something on the younger man's arms.

"What are those scratches from, Lucas?" Henry questioned curiously, eyeing where they were revealed by a partially pushed-up sleeve.

"Oh," Lucas said, pulling the sleeve back down around his arm. "It's nothing. Vivian's cat doesn't like me much."

"I see," Henry nodded, turning back to the body.

"The thing can get pretty mean when it's angry."

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><p>Henry put off that occurrence as a bad morning, and didn't think twice about it until three or four days later when Lucas showed up to work without so much as a mention of Vivian. The day wore on a bit before Henry even noticed, however. Lucas seemed over all a bit quieter than usual, only talking when Henry asked something of him.<p>

Honestly a tad worried for his assistant, anticipating him upset over a bad breakup, Henry approached him around lunchtime. His nose was buried in a 'graphic novel', but Henry had noticed him stuck on the same page for nearly fifteen minutes.

"Lucas, is everything all right?" the doctor questioned.

His question startled the man from his reading. "Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired today, I guess. I didn't, uh, sleep well last night. Vivian and I kind of had a fight. We're okay, though, we worked it out." He turned to face the doctor but winced at the movement, shifting into another position.

The momentary pain that went across Lucas's face sparked suspicion in Henry's mind. "The fight isn't the reason for your bruised ribs, is it?"

"What, how did you-" he started in surprise, but quickly corrected himself. "No. I, um, slipped on the ice going down my stairs this morning. Nothing major." His response met silence and he stood, patting Henry's shoulder with a reassuring smile. "Really, Doc, I'm fine. I appreciate you worrying about me, though."

Henry just offered a half nod and his assistant turned to walk away. "So you're sure there is nothing you should tell me?" he interrupted, causing the man to pause mid-step. For a moment Lucas said nothing, gripping at his side for a second before nodding quickly without turning around.

Henry sighed, watching the man walk away. He had significant doubts that what he was being told wasn't the truth, but he wondered if this was his place to intervene. This was, after all, Lucas's life, not his own. Perhaps he should just mind his own business.

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><p>By the next day, Lucas was practically back to his old self, perhaps even better. Henry was regaled with his usual chatter, beginning with a description of how he and Vivian had made up over dinner. The day after that was particularly normal until around noon.<p>

Lucas had quite literally just sat down at his desk for his usual lunch when his boss noticed a young woman he didn't recognize step out of the elevator. She looked around momentarily before settling her gaze on the assistant medical examiner. She fit Lucas's description of his girlfriend- average height, full-figured but still a bit slender, dark hair that fell to her shoulders, particularly pale skin- so Henry figured she must be Vivian.

"Lucas!" she called happily, trotting over to him. "I want you to take me out to lunch," she said as she approached him.

Lucas looked a bit surprised to see her. "Hey! Right now? You should've called, we could have met somewhere," he said, standing from his seat.

"I thought I'd surprise you," she smiled.

"Well, um, okay," Lucas returned the grin. "I didn't plan on it but if you really want to."

"Good, lets go," she beamed, grabbing his wrist and pulling him in the direction of the elevator.

Lucas stopped her. "Wait a sec. I should tell Dr. Morgan that I'm going so he won't be surprised when I'm not here."

"Oh, come on," she sighed with annoyance creeping into her voice. "Who cares? Lets just go. You'll be back before your lunch break is over so what's the difference?"

"Well, I don't usually leave for lunch so I should let him know just incase he needs me, Vivie," he said. "Hey, Doc!" he called over to Henry, who was already walking over, having overheard the exchange.

"Yes, Lucas?" the medical examiner said, eyeing Vivian, who had turned something akin to a glare onto her boyfriend.

"I'm going out with Vivian for lunch," he said. "Wanted to let you know."

"Of course," Henry nodded. "Nice to meet you, Vivian. Have fun."

"We will," the woman said tightly, turning on her heels and pulling Lucas along. "I told you to stop calling me 'Vivie'. I hate it," she said in a low, biting tone.

Lucas apologized as they walked, but Henry's attention wasn't on his voice. He watched the hand wrapped tightly around his assistants's wrist. There, long, manicured nails dug purposefully into the skin.

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><p>When he had met Vivian, it had convinced Henry that his assumptions had been correct. Lucas's actions in the recent weeks had been tell-tale, for no person suffered that many injuries and went through such uncharacteristic mood swings without something major changing in their life. The scratches, the bruised ribs, the melancholy mood after their fight- even Lucas's happiness over their make-up. It all clearly pointed to the beginnings of a cycle of abuse.<p>

However, Henry wasn't sure how to deal with his revelation. He knew that, without solid proof, Lucas would simply deny everything. Unfortunately, he knew that look in Lucas's eyes when he spoke of the woman, and he knew that Lucas would do anything to stay with her right now. Henry figured it best to wait for the right moment to broach the subject with his assistant, even though every small bruise that he explained away made the medical examiner more and more worried.

It took five days for Henry to decide enough was enough and ordered Lucas into his office. His assistant stood in front of the seated M.E., clearly a bit confused.

"What do you need, Doc?" Lucas asked casually.

"Lucas, can you lower the collar on your shirt?" Henry requested, hands folded on the surface of his desk.

Lucas stiffened. "Why?" he asked, scratching nervously at the back of his neck.

"Lucas, I'm aware of what is going on between you and your girlfriend," he said. "Please, show me the scratches on your neck."

Lucas hesitated but tugged down the collar of his long-sleeved shirt, showing a set of rather deep scratches at the base of his neck where it met his shoulder. "It's just her-"

"Don't insult my intelligence and blame an animal, Lucas," Henry said stiffly. "I'm a medical examiner with quite a few years of experience. I can recognize gouge marks left my human nails."

Lucas closed his mouth and sighed, slumping back into one of Henry's chairs.

"I'm assuming she has also been responsible for your earlier scratches and bruised ribs." Henry just received a nod in response. "I don't think I need to tell you that this is not the makings for a healthy relationship."

"She only- she's only like that when she's angry," Lucas defended weakly.

"From what I've seen," Henry replied, "she gets angry quite frequently. And if the few moments I personally observed her are any indication, it doesn't take much to make her angry."

Lucas finally looked up to meet Henry's eyes. "Yeah, but Doc, she just has some issues controlling herself."

"Then she needs some help," Henry said, "She doesn't need someone to take it out on. Especially not you."

Lucas rubbed a hand down his face. "It's just... I like her a lot, you know? I really care about her. When we were first going out, she was just so nice."

"I understand," Henry nodded. "But I feel the need to remind you that you work in a morgue, Lucas. You have seen where abuse can lead." Lucas buried his face in his hands and stayed uncharacteristically quiet for quite a while. "Of course, this is ultimately your decision. Though I just want you to know I believe you deserve to be treated much better than she does."

Henry stood from his desk and went to leave, but paused beside his assistant and momentarily squeezed his shoulder. Lucas looked up at him. "You're right. As usual. I'll tell her I can't do this anymore, after work."

Henry offered a small nod before continuing to the door, but hesitated again. He knew better than most the pain of the end of a relationship that deep down you knew was doomed from the start. "If you need to talk at any time," he said, "you know where to find me."

"Thanks, Doc."


End file.
